The Essentials…
In the insulation industry, the term “Green” has unfortunately come to be used as a synonym for “Energy Efficient,” and little more – “Over the life of our product,” insulation companies often say, “Our product will save more energy than was required to manufacture it; so our product is “Green.”
This has been the long-standing argument for nearly all the major players in the trade, from the synthetic fiber manufacturers to the makers of urethane and polyiso foams. This form of reasoning, from our perspective, takes too much for granted: Known carcinogens are deemed “Green”; products composed almost entirely of fossil fuels become “Green”; toxicity is literally overlooked as men in hazmat suits enter a family’s home to install a product whose material safety data sheet warns against direct or indirect exposure at all costs. As manufacturers vie for market share of the green community, companies simply compare their products against one another, often leaving the consumer with little recourse but to choose between the lesser of two (or more) evils. While such products undoubtedly have their place in the construction industry at large, they are not, by most standards, actually “Green”.
So at SBI we have taken a different approach. To us, “Green” means family-friendly, healthy, readily sustainable, energy-efficient, environmentally conscientious and 100% non-toxic – even throughout the installation process. No Hazmat suits, no gross allergens, no off-gassing, no VOC’s.